The Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label: a new approach to protect the environment

Let’s take a quick look back: in November 2017, at the Bonn Climate Change Conference, we launched the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions to bring together the main actors involved in developing, financing or promoting products, services, processes and technologies that protect the environment in a profitable way. This was the moment we unveiled our challenge to find 1000 clean, efficient and profitable solutions.

Since then, Bertrand Piccard and the entire Solar Impulse Foundation team have travelled the world in the search for solutions: India, Mexico, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Morocco, UAE... We’ve visited universities, startup incubators, accelerators, research centers, innovation labs, and attended many conferences and events. We’ve found countless clean and profitable solutions.

But still, we wanted to go one step further. We needed a clear symbol.

The Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label

Today, we’re proud to announce the launch of the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label. For the first time, a label assesses the economic profitability of solutions that protect the environment. This label serves as a new and credible sign that can be applied to products, processes and services and serves as an indication of quality to those looking to implement clean solutions, and affords a competitive edge to the innovators behind them. Each solution goes through a strict assessment process performed by independent experts. To be labelled, solutions must reach high evaluation of the following criteria:

“Imagine the impact that this will have on the world! 1000 clean and efficient solutions with a label proving their profitability. They have the potential to create jobs and boost clean economic growth, while also reducing CO2 emissions and preserving natural resources. This is much more than ecological, it is logical!”
Dr Bertrand Piccard, Initiator and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation

By launching the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label, Bertrand Piccard speaks the language of politicians, investors, and business leaders: employment, profitability, and economic growth.

“Each time I speak of protecting the environment to heads of state or government officials, they tell me that it is too expensive. This label is a strong message to them: solutions exist, and represent the biggest market opportunity of our century. An opportunity which cannot be missed.”

The overall process, from the submission form of the solution to the attribution of the label, will take approximately 4 weeks, and is divided as such:

What’s next? We’ve now opened our submission platform for solutions and we’ve started assessing them. 356 companies have already submitted a solution and 17 have been granted the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label! In 2019, Bertrand Piccard will undertake a new round the world journey to present the 1000 labelled solutions to decision-makers in businesses and governments. This aims at encouraging them to adopt more ambitious environmental targets and energy policies, which are necessary to unlock the full potential of labelled solutions.

Now you can join Solar Impulse Foundation's new challenge.